fine art portraiture
Cinematic Portraiture in the Old Master Tradition
Light is the story
On Sunday 1 November, I’m teaching a two-hour live masterclass on Zoom: Cinematic Portraiture in the Old Master Tradition.
Read MoreLast week Clancy Brown came to the Downtown Los Angeles studio, and I finally had the chance to build a picture I have been carrying around in my head for some time: a man at a table, with bread and wine and fruit in front of him, lit the way the Old Masters lit their suppers.
Read MoreThere's a moment, going back through the frames from a sitting, where you can feel the difference between a photograph that merely records a face and one that holds the room. It is rarely a question of the camera. Almost always it comes down to two things: how the light falls, and how the person in front of you was directed in the seconds before the shutter.
Read MoreThere's a particular kind of luck in photographing someone you know completely. With Sasha I've now made more portraits than of any other subject I've ever worked with, and these latest frames from the LA studio are some of the ones I keep returning to. The cropped platinum hair, the stacked silver ear pieces, the Adidas track top with its three stripes — there's an austere, almost sculptural confidence to her here that the lighting was built to serve rather than soften.
Read MoreI'll be back at the Midtown Manhattan studio from Monday 25th to Sunday 31st May 2026 — seven days, one room, a short list of sittings, and what I suspect will be a faintly absurd amount of coffee. If you've been meaning to book a portrait, refresh a headshot, or sit down for a one-to-one workshop, this is the window.
Read MoreOn Saturday 23rd May 2026, from 10am to 3pm, I'll be running a one-day portrait workshop at the Downtown LA studio on Recreating Caravaggio. Five hours, two lights, professional models, and a small enough room that nobody can hide at the back. Tickets are $450, places are limited, and the date is closer than the calendar makes it look.
Read MorePortraits of Babs Olusanmokun, London | Rory Lewis
Portrait photographer Rory Lewis on capturing actor Babs Olusanmokun (Dune, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds) at his London studio — five years in the making.
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